This invention relates generally to the removal of pollutants from water, and more particularly to a method for reducing phosphorous in a body of water.
Phosphorous concentrations in bodies of water throughout the United States, and specifically South Florida, have dramatically increased over the past thirty years. These changes, as documented in numerous scientific reports and articles, have caused heightened concern regarding the overall ecological health of these bodies of water. Due to these concerns, lawmakers at the federal and state level have passed legislation that requires the level of phosphorous be reduced enormously, sometimes as high as an eighty percent reduction of phosphorous.
There is, then, a need to reduce phosphorous concentrations in bodies of water without further injuring the ecosystems in which those bodies of water are located. Preferably, a method needed to reduce phosphorous concentrations can utilize existing resources near the body of water. Prior attempts have been made to effectively reduce the amount of phosphorous in water. However, these attempts are either impractical, difficult to perform, or do not promote the health of the ecosystem of the body of water. Therefore, a method for reducing phosphorous concentrations in bodies of waters is needed.
This invention provides a method for reducing phosphorous in a body of water. This method comprises calcining a plurality of rocks and collecting carbon dioxide formed as a result of the calcining process; crushing the plurality of calcined rocks; pumping source water from the body of water into to a plurality of retaining cells; flocculating the phosphorus by introducing the plurality of calcined rocks into the source water in the retaining cells; settling out a phosphorous precipitate formed by the flocculating act; adjusting the pH level of the flocculated source water to a predetermined range of values by pumping carbon dioxide created by the calcining of the rocks into the source water to created treated water; and transferring the treated water back to the body of water.